Joni Mitchell started smoking at 9 and felt "really smart"

[JGeropoulas]

I couldn't decide if this interesting little tidbit should go under the "Music" or "Smoking" thread, so I'm putting here.

At the age of 9, along with many other children at that time, Joni contracted polio. As she convalesced, she says she truly developed an artistic sensitivity; "A great sorrow hath humanized me." Thanks mostly to her mother's loving attention, she recovered from the often fatal disease, and returned to her life in Saskatoon.

Also at age 9, Joni started smoking cigarettes. I'll let her tell this-

I started smoking at the age of nine. I had polio, and when I got out of the hospital, I kind of made a pact with my Christmas tree, or maybe it was God, that if I could get my legs back... At that time I'd broken away from the church because I loved stories, and they had a lot of loopholes, and, if you asked the teacher about those loopholes, like, O.K., Adam and Eve meet, they're the first man and woman, and they have two sons: Cain and Abel. Cain killed Abel, then Cain got married. Who did he marry? It did not go over well. So I refused to go to church in the town for awhile.

But I had this debt to pay back because I did stand up, unfurl, and walk. So I joined the church choir and one night after choir practice, in the middle of the winter, a girl had snitched a pack of Black Cat cork from her mother and we all sat in the wintery fish pond in the snow, and passed them around. And you know, some girls choked and some threw up, and I took one puff and felt really smart! I mean I just thought, "Woah!" My head cleared up. I seemed to see better and think better. So I was a smoker from that day on. Secretly, covertly, and I'm still smoking."

_http://jonimitchell.com/library/view.cfm?id=2042

And “see better and think better” she certainly did, as evidenced in her lyrics for 221 songs, which earned her a multitude of honors and awards:

8 Grammy Awards, out of 14 nominations (1969-2008)
Inducted into the Canadian Music Hall of Fame (1981)
Billboard's Century Award (1995)
Polar Music Prize (1996)
Inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame (1997)
Ranked #5 on VH1's 100 Greatest Women of Rock N' Roll (1999)
Grammy Lifetime Achievement Award (2002)
Appointed Companion of the Order of Canada, Canada's highest civilian honour (2002)
Her album Blue was listed by TIME magazine as one of the All-Time 100 Albums (2006)
Inducted into the Canadian Songwriters Hall of Fame (2007)
Ranked #44 on VH1’s Greatest Artists of All Time (2010)

"One of the most important female recording artists of the rock era" and "a powerful influence on all artists who embrace diversity, imagination and [integrity" – citation on her Grammy Lifetime Achievement Award

“Both Sides Now”… 587 versions recorded”

"I was really, really into Joni Mitchell. I knew every word to Court and Spark; I worshipped her when I was in high school. Blue is amazing. I would have to say of all the women I've heard, she had the most profound effect on me from a lyrical point of view” -- Madonna

_http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Joni_Mitchell#Awards_and_honours

 

[Mark7]

Wow! I didn't know that about JM. She's one of my all time faves.

 

[goyacobol]

JGeropoulas,

Wow! I think you just made my day. I always liked Joni Mitchell but I didn't know much of her background. Thanks for sharing. I am starting to think a little clearer now!

 

[Woodsman]

What a fascinating post! Thank-you!

 

[will01]

Indeed, this is a great post. My father was a smoker when I was young and always smoked in the car. As I used to get severe motion sickness, the combination of the smoke with this unpleasant feeling combined to really turn me off smoking, so I never tried it.

One of the benefits I hoped to obtain from the keto diet (now 19 months in) is increased mental clarity, but no significant improvement so far. Interesting that Joni Mitchell had improvements in this regard. Has anyone else had a similar experience?

 

[SeekinTruth]

I'm a pretty heavy smoker now for many years, but started in my early and only smoked 5 to 10 in my teens. For what it's worth, I think ketogenic diet and smoking complement each other very well. Oh, and by the way I was smoking when I loaded this page - just put it out.

 

[JGeropoulas]

Indeed, this is a great post. My father was a smoker when I was young and always smoked in the car. As I used to get severe motion sickness, the combination of the smoke with this unpleasant feeling combined to really turn me off smoking, so I never tried it.

One of the benefits I hoped to obtain from the keto diet (now 19 months in) is increased mental clarity, but no significant improvement so far. Interesting that Joni Mitchell had improvements in this regard. Has anyone else had a similar experience?

If you check out this thread, you'll see that is the benefit that many smokers experience http://cassiopaea.org/forum/index.php/topic,84.2190.html

 

[will01]

Indeed, this is a great post. My father was a smoker when I was young and always smoked in the car. As I used to get severe motion sickness, the combination of the smoke with this unpleasant feeling combined to really turn me off smoking, so I never tried it.

One of the benefits I hoped to obtain from the keto diet (now 19 months in) is increased mental clarity, but no significant improvement so far. Interesting that Joni Mitchell had improvements in this regard. Has anyone else had a similar experience?

If you check out this thread, you'll see that is the benefit that many smokers experience http://cassiopaea.org/forum/index.php/topic,84.2190.html

Thanks JGeropoulas. I had read some of this thread a while ago and have started again, as well as the pipe thread. Seems quite a few lifetime nonsmokers have tried smoking. I think it's a worthwhile experiment to see how my body reacts.